US Iran Britain conflict politics oil,lead
11 Temmuz 2019 - 19:23

US, allies planning naval escort for Gulf tankers: Pentagon
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Washington, July 11, 2019 (AFP) - The United States and its allies are
discussing plans to provide naval escorts for oil tankers through the Gulf, a
top US general said Thursday after Iranian military vessels menaced a British
tanker.
General Mark Milley, nominated to become the chairman of the Joint Chiefs
of Staff, told a Senate hearing that the US has a "crucial role" in enforcing
freedom of navigation in the Gulf.
He said the US was attempting to put together a coalition "in terms of
providing military escort, naval escort to commercial shipping," he said.
"I think that that will be developing over the next couple weeks."
Milley, currently chief of staff of the army, confirmed less specific
remarks by current Joint Chiefs Chairman General Joseph Dunford earlier this
week.
Dunford told media that the Pentagon was working to identify possible
partners in an effort to protect navigation in the Straits of Hormuz and Bab
al-Mandab on either side of the Arabian peninsula where much of the world's
crude oil traffic passes.
Milley's remarks came after London said Thursday that armed Iranian boats
tried to block a supertanker before being warned off by a British warship in a
dramatic escalation in the Gulf.
The British defense ministry said three Iranian boats tried to "impede the
passage" of the British Heritage, a 274-meter (899-foot) tanker owned by BP
that can carry a million barrels of oil.
"We are concerned by this action and continue to urge the Iranian
authorities to de-escalate the situation in the region," a Downing Street
spokesman said.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards denied involvement but also cautioned both the
United States and Britain that they would "strongly regret" the British
detention of a tanker carrying Iranian crude oil off Gibraltar last week.
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